What are you NOT going to do in 2014? #workresolutions

What are you NOT going to do in 2014? #workresolutions

YNPN member Natasha Golinsky shares her take on #workresolutions: the reverse resolution.

As a working mom of three young kids with volunteer commitments, a huge extended family, and a household to run, a question I get all the time is “How do you get it all done?"

People always assume that I’m swamped with things to do; however, the truth is that I have lots of spare time (more than I’d like to admit). Despite my to-do list, I manage to watch a bit of TV every day, read about a book a week, and spend lots of time with my husband and kids.

It’s not because I know millions of personal productivity short-cuts, but it’s because I keep things simple. I’m very conscious of just how much time I have and how much emotional energy I have to go around. After years of being an over-commitment-aholic, I finally wised up and realized that everyone loses when things get too busy in my life. Not only do I feel more stressed out but my kids start acting crazier, my marriage feels strained, I start to fall short on commitments, and the quality of my work decreases. It's no way to live.

This year instead of bogging yourself down with a ton of resolutions that will only put you under more pressure, why not make some “reverse resolutions” (i.e., things you’re NOT going to do)? We all have way too much on our plates and not all of it has a great return on investment. Why not strategically get rid of some of the items on your task list this year instead of piling on more?

Which five things are you doing right now that don’t have a decent enough pay-off for you to keep doing them?

Which things do you need to quit? (FYI: Quitting something unproductive doesn’t make you a quitter. Continuing to do something unproductive is actually a very silly thing to do.)

Don’t worry about how quitting this task will look to others around you. Your primary responsibility is to yourself and your mental health. Chances are that anyone who would judge you is just as over-committed and feels jealous that you had the confidence to stand up for yourself and your quality of life.

This year, do less. Under-commit and enjoy some time off. Make this the year that you get back to enjoying your life instead of constantly feeling like you’re drowning in to-dos.

Natasha Golinsky is the founder of Next Level Nonprofits, an online training company dedicated to helping new Executive Directors learn how to "stop putting out fires" and "start blazing a trail" instead. You can find her on Twitter as @ngolinsky